October 11, 2003
This Saturday the Pigs traveled to Rochester to take on a hot Rogues side that had demolished Twin Ports the week before. Despite a forecast of poor weather, the match kicked off cool but dry. We lost the toss and ended up going against a strong wind in the first half. After receiving the kick, the Pigs got off to a rare quick start, scoring first just minutes into the match. Scott Colby kicked a grubber through the Rochester defense, and Grant Dietrich sprinted up to get there just before two converging defenders and touch down inches before going into touch. The difficult conversion was no good, but we were out to a 5 – 0 lead. Rochester fought back hard however, and after some silly Pigs penalties (an unfortunate theme on the day, as it turns out), their outside center broke through for a long run and scored under the posts. The conversion was good, and it was now 5 – 7. Minutes later, another penalty was conceded in a dangerous area, and the Rogues made the kick at posts to increase their lead to 5 – 10. After some good defense to cover for more penalties, St. Paul launched a counterattack that saw JR Burgess break through from inside his own half and run to within 5 yards of the Rogues line. He was finally brought down, but was able to pass off to Bill Bridgeman in support, who touched it down for the try. Bridgeman converted the kick, and it was now 12 – 10 Pigs, and so the first half ended.
The second half saw the Pigs gain strength and momentum as the half wore on. The wind advantage helped us gain territory, and we were able to pin Rochester deep for long stretches at a time. This paid off when a nice back line move saw fullback Dietrich commit the last defender before passing out to Steve King on the wing who ran in for the score. Conversion good, 19 – 10. Minutes later the same combination struck again, as Dietrich was hit by the last defender but managed to get a pass off that King ran in for the score. Conversion missed, 24 – 10. More possession in Rochester’s end followed, and another nice backline move saw Bridgeman pass off to Colby for another score. Jason Naber converted, 31 – 10. As the expected rain began, the game got sloppy and a lot of balls were dropped. The Pigs still kept the pressure on however, and some extended periods of successful ball control by the pack lead to the day’s final try, as Naber pushed through to the try line before passing off to Colby who touched down for his second of the day. Naber converted again, for the final score of 38 – 10. In the end, another bonus point victory, and a continued unblemished league record for St. Paul this season.
Lineup:
1.Troy Midboe 2.Matt Sonnek 3.Luke Utting(Chris Griffin) 4.Jake Hodgson(Ike Muringai) 5.Ben Hanson(Jason Naber) 6.Mike Lundberg 7.Joe Huberty(Mike Soucheray) 8.Mike Hankee (captain) 9.Jason Rombalski 10.Bill Bridgeman 11.Ernest Wayde(Jaffrey Blanks,Jeff Zweber) 12.JR Burgess 13.Scott Colby 14.Steve King 15.Grant Dietrich
Scoring:
Tries: Dietrich, Bridgeman, King (2), Colby (2)
Conversions: Bridgeman (2/4), Naber (2/2)